Embodiments of the inventive concept relate generally to non-volatile memory devices. More particularly, certain embodiments relate to methods of operating non-volatile memory devices in response to received information.
Semiconductor memory devices can be roughly divided into two categories according to whether they retain stored data when disconnected from power. These categories include volatile memory devices, which lose stored data when disconnected from power, and non-volatile memory devices, which retain stored data when disconnected from power. Examples of volatile memory devices include dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM), and examples of non-volatile memory devices include read only memory (ROM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), resistive random access memory (RRAM), and flash memory.
Flash memory is an especially popular form of nonvolatile memory due to attractive features such as relatively high storage density, efficient performance, low cost per bit, and an ability to withstand physical shock. NAND flash memory, for instance, is used in many devices to provide long term data storage.
NAND flash memory devices may be sensitive to changes in environmental factors and variations in manufacturing processes, so the lifetime and performance of these devices may be improved by adjusting operating parameters of the NAND flash memory device according to environmental factors. Such operating parameters may include, e.g., a read voltage level, a program start voltage level, a program increasing voltage level, a program verifying voltage level, an erase start voltage level, and a maximum erase loop number. Unfortunately, however, the operating speed of NAND flash memory devices may be decreased because a significant amount of time may be required to change the operating parameters of the NAND flash memory device.